Lagos seals Ikorodu health college, arrests director over illegal nursing programme

Lagos seals Ikorodu health college, arrests director over illegal nursing programme

Lagos has shut down the Tower College of Health Sciences in Gberigbe, Ikorodu, for operating an unaccredited nursing programme.

The closure was enforced on Thursday by a joint team that included officials from the health ministry’s directorate of nursing services (DNS).

Also involved were the Nursing and Midwifery Committee of Lagos State and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Lagos.

They were supported by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).

During the operation, Femi Ajekigbe, the college director, was arrested and is currently in custody for questioning and further legal action by the state.

Speaking to journalists after the closure, Sola Aketi, the director of nursing services at the Lagos ministry of health, stated that the institution had been previously notified of the imminent shutdown.

She said an inspection team from the state’s nursing and midwifery committee had visited the school on January 20 and uncovered several irregularities.

Aketi said the team reported that the college failed to meet basic academic and infrastructural requirements for nursing education and, as a result, lacked accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).

“As a result of this closure, the illegal institution will cease all nursing training and educational activities with immediate effect,” Aketi said.

“We have several of these schools across the state, and we will not stop until they are all shut down.”

Aketi confirmed that Tower College is one of many unaccredited institutions operating in Lagos.